Dangerous heat returns to Minnesota Friday

Minnesota faces a variety of weather concerns Friday, from dangerously hot conditions to the risk for severe storms.

Friday’s forecast

The weather Friday morning already gives a hint of what much of the day will be like. The state is starting warmer than average, with many areas in the 70s, and it is muggy, thanks to dew points in the 60s. 

Plenty of sunshine and winds from the south are expected to put almost the entire state back into the 90s Friday. 

Dew points also stay elevated, in the upper 60s and low 70s, making for oppressive humidity at times. This raises the heat index into the upper 90s for portions of central and southern Minnesota by Friday afternoon, causing a heat advisory to be in effect for areas including the Twin Cities.

There will be enough instability for a couple very isolated showers and storms in northern Minnesota during the day Friday.

Then, by Friday evening, a cold front starts pushing in from the north and moves showers and storms across the state through the evening and overnight. 

This brings an isolated (“marginal” in dark green) severe weather risk to much of southern Minnesota, and a more scattered (“slight” in yellow) risk to northern Minnesota.  Wind and hail are the primary threat. 

Unfortunately, rain is forecast to average under a quarter inch in most places as the storms move through, with slightly higher amounts in northern Minnesota, especially under downpours with thunderstorms.

The heat continues into next week, but a drop in the humidity will raise fire concerns.

That extended forecast will be updated around 9 a.m.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.